


of a feather

by mothicalcreatures (laelreenia)



Series: Demons and Detectives [2]
Category: Pet Shop of Horrors
Genre: Animal care, Discussion of Cannibalism, Episode Related, Gen, nothing graphic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 08:03:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14637573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laelreenia/pseuds/mothicalcreatures
Summary: A glimpse into the aftermath of the very first chapter, "Dream." Count D pays a visit to Angelica Winston to check up on the stelitzia chick.





	of a feather

 

“I’m looking for a bird! Give me a bird that’s so rare that it’s the only one of its kind! It must have feathers as pretty as a peacock’s, sing like a canary and… and… well anyway, one that’s much more expensive and impressive than that bird that conceited Janet has… Money is no object!”

 

———

 

Humans never wanted to understand what they wanted. Well, perhaps not _all_ humans. D had to admit that knowing Leon was changing his perspective on humans, but _many_ humans did not want or care to know about the animals they bought from his shop. The amount of them that broke the terms of their contracts was testimony to that. Those that didn’t did not try to understand their more exotic pets, just wanting them because they were pretty.

Such had been the young girl, Angelica, who had bought the strelitzia. She had not been the most terrible customer, but she had been entitled and ignorant and unwilling to learn. The way many of the wealthy white customers who frequented his shop were. They only want the exotic pet to look good, to show off, often with no care as to how to properly treat them or follow the very simple rules in the contracts.

How else would you describe buying a bird and then attempting to breed the bird without thinking about what the effects would be? D could have warned her about the cannibalistic nature of the species, but then, would she have learned her lesson about the price of empty exoticization? Perhaps it was time to pay Miss Angelica a visit to see how the birds were doing, the chick certainly would have hatched by now.

 

Angelica’s father stood, arms crossed, blocking the door way. “And who are you?”

“I am Count D, I run the pet shop your daughter purchased her birds from. I am here to check up on them to ensure that the hatching of the chick went well.”

Her father huffed, but let D inside and instructed him to the greenhouse.

 

Inside the greenhouse, Angelica was sitting on the floor, listening to the young male chick warble away its song from its nest, watched closely by the mother who was perched in a tree a few feet away.

“It would seem the chick is doing quite well,” Count D said.

Angelica started, having been so enraptured in the bird song that she hadn’t noticed Count D come in.

“Yes, yes, his song is so sweet. Not as lovely as P-chan’s yet, but he’s just a baby.”

D nodded. “He will indeed grow into his voice.”

“Do I need to sign a new contract for him?” Angelica asked.

“No, he was born to your care so that won’t be necessary, however, as far as care goes, the terms of your original contract will apply to this little one as well.”

“Okay, I thought so… I really can’t let anyone see them?”

“No, they are quite delicate creatures and can succumb to stress quite easily. It is why they are so very rarely kept in captivity. They do not survive in places like zoos, because of the crowds of people.”

Now it was Angelica’s turn to nod. “I suppose that makes sense.”

D could tell that she wasn’t particularly happy with the answer, but he had a feeling that she wouldn’t risk breaking a contract rule considering what she’d discovered the last time she had.

Angelica was quiet, the only sound being the warbling song of the strelitzia chick, and D turned to leave.

“Wait, I- I know you’re not a vet, but if one of them gets sick, could I bring them to you? None of the exotic animals vets I’ve found even know about this kind of bird.”

D didn’t turn around, of course she hadn’t listened when he’d said that this kind of bird was too rare to be found in books and as such no vet would know about them. “Yes of course. Stop by anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Since this was written for an assignment, it means there is research and a bibliography behind it, so if anyone is interested in said research here you go.
> 
> Berglund, Barbara. “Chinatown’s Tourist Terrain: Representation and Recialization in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco.” _American Studies_ , vol. 46, no. 2, 2005, pp. 5-36. _JSTOR_ , JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40643847.  
> Park, Jane Chi Hyun. “American Anxiety in the Oriental City.” _Yellow Future: Oriental Style in Hollywood Cinema, University of Minnesota Press_ , 2010, pp. 51-81.  
> Porter, David. “Monstrous Beauty: Eighteenth-Century Fashion and the Aesthetics of the Chinese Taste.” _Eighteenth-Century Studies_ , vol. 35, no. 3, 2002, pp. 395-411. _JSTOR_ , JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30054206.


End file.
